Australia is a fat country. This is a broad sweeping generalization but an observation I'm qualified to make. Because I'm Australian. I only visit for a couple of weeks a year and every time I do I can't help noticing how fat everyone is. This includes my family (not my 84 year old mom). It's ironic, as on the one hand Aussies are sports mad, but as soon as they put down the ball, racquet, club, bat, rod or what ever other weapon is their choice, they grab a six pack of beer and consume fried food!
The big topic of conversation on Australian media recently is the sky rocketing price of fuel. From what I understand this is directly related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now forgive my skepticism but I think the conflict is being used as a very convenient excuse to put the price of fuel up. How is it that two weeks after the invasion, fuel in Australia has gone up close to 30%. I'm calling bullshit! So where am I going with this......?
On the radio this morning I was listening to a talk show where listeners could call in and have their 2 minutes. One lady was explaining that she had just filled her car up on the way to work and it cost exceptionally more than the last fill. The DJ asked her how far was the commute. 10km was her answer. The next question was of course "have you considered cycling to work?" The long silent pause was deafening. She had no answer.
I mean cmon lady - this city has a comprehensive network of cycle paths that connect every suburb radiating out from the centre of the city in every direction. OK so maybe she has a good reason to drive her gas guzzling car 10km to work and back every day. So I thought I would see just how good these cycle paths are. My family home is 30km from the center of the city. Now of course that is a hell of a cycle commute but I wanted to see how many cyclists were on the bike path at different stages of the journey.
Off I set. I posted a couple of weeks ago about the MBC - the name of the cycle path that connects my family home of Redcliffe to the Brisbane city center. I wanted to continue beyond where I turned back that day and follow it all the way to the city. I cant tell you how awesome these bike paths are. They are built alongside the main arterial roads that connect the outer suburbs with the center of the city. They follow green areas, river banks, are elevated through wetlands and dive under highways in specially built tunnels. Guess how many cyclists I passed on this fine Monday morning as I rode to the city. One. I'm not kidding, I passed one cyclist in 90 minutes of leisurely cycling over 39km of perfect bike paths.
And the best thing is.... you can take your bike on the train for free. Which was perfect for me as I simply caught the train home rather than riding all the way back. Once again I was the only guy on the train with a bike. Cmon fat Australia - get on your bicycle.
Fuel costs a fortune, everyone is fat, the whole city is connected with cycle paths. People complain about lack of parking, expensive public transport and high costs of running a car. I dont know what to say.
I'm Jobiker and I would ride to work every day if I lived here. But thankfully I dont...:) Peace.